Everyone who knows me knows I have plenty to say. But I never thought about blogging because I wasn’t documenting a fabulous trip or teaching anyone how to make chicken gnocchi soup or a felt Christmas tree craft. And yet here I sit in Mayberry, I mean, Verona, New Jersey, penning my thoughts about how very different things are in the North and the South! So maybe this will be a journal of sorts for my kids to remember their time in Jersey, if the internet is still around when they grow up. Or maybe it’s just something to keep me writing (not that grocery lists don’t count) during my time as a stay at home Mom. Or maybe it will become the national guidelines for all Northerners to learn to do things the right way, the Southern way.
I could name 10 things off the top of my head that I would bet money nobody else in the 2.8 square miles of this township has in their house. OK, maybe they have a few, but not more than three in the series, and these are things that are standard issue in almost every Southern (well, at least Louisiana) household. Here we go: A pot of red beans in the fridge. Toddler size cheerleader uniforms from 2 SEC schools. At least 15 cookbooks published by a variety of Louisiana Junior Leagues. Numerous monogrammed items such as dresses, beach towels, tote bags, etc. Abita beer and Old New Orleans Rum. Frozen crawfish tails, carefully transported across 8 states. Clementine Hunter reprints. A perky hair bow to match every toddler girl outfit in the house (including the 2 cheerleader uniforms). Four hefty bags of Mardi Gras Beads. Oh, and a few professionally made Mardi Gras costumes as well. Who knew these common household goods would make us stand apart!
Not that I don’t like it here. This town is awesome, people are friendly, it’s safe, beautiful and a 35 minute train ride to one of the greatest cities in the world. And I’m thoroughly enjoying being home with my kids (especially the days they are in preschool) and being able to make our house a comfortable home. But there are just some things that need pointing out, even if they are really obvious, and some things that are a surprise to me. So indulge me as I reflect on some bits of yankeeness.
So they should call this the Carbohydrate State instead of the Garden State. If you are trying to limit the bread in your diet, this is not the place to be. Driving down Main Street, or Bloomfield Ave as it’s called here, you see bagel shop, pizzeria, deli, Dunkin Donuts, another bagel shop, an Italian trattoria, and attached to the gas station, another Dunkin Donuts. Within the first week here I learned that munchkins are a common word. And they aren’t talking about the Wizard of Oz. We call those donut holes, but Dunkin has the branding down pat up here. Oh well, we wash it down with a Coke and up here they call it “soda.”
And speaking of Dunkin Donuts, everyone up here thinks their coffee is so fabulous. I’ve been doing lots of taste test research and I guess it ranks up there among the tastier java here, but that’s because there are no CC’s Coffee Houses and you can’t buy CDM in the grocery store. Didn’t realize I was so spoiled with good strong coffee, but recently some friends brought some good stuff from home when they came to visit, and after tasting the Louisiana made goodness, well I guess that’s where the saying – once you go black, you never go back - comes from.
I come from this area, born in Plainfield, New Jersey. Mom and Dad from New Jersey and New York. Lived in Rhode Island, Maryland, and Northern Virginia and things are very different and strange in the north. I also spent four years at school at Annapolis. So when I met a real southern girl and became part of her deep south family, I was deeply impressed with the differences in just about everything. Food, drink, music, partying, sports, the way you are a fiend and neighbor just for moving into the neighborhood, everything is different. I like it.
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